van Witteloostuijn, M. 1 , Boersma, P. 1 , Wijnen, F. . 2 & Rispens, J. 1
1 University of Amsterdam
2 Utrecht University
The present study investigated the hypothesized relationship between statistical learning (SL) ability and literacy skills by adopting an individual differences approach in children with and without dyslexia. We analyzed both reading and spelling performance and used two SL measures that have previously been linked to literacy attainment (serial reaction time task, e.g. Hedenius et al., 2013; visual SL task, e.g. Arciuli & Simpson, 2012). Additionally, we considered participant-level variables including participant characteristics (age, gender, socio-economic status, diagnostic status), general cognitive skills (non-verbal reasoning, sustained attention) and phonological skills (rapid automatized naming, phonological short-term memory). This comprehensive approach builds on previous results and, importantly, can uncover the contribution of SL next to other cognitive factors known to contribute to literacy acquisition. 50 Dutch-speaking children with dyslexia (age range = 8;4 - 11;2, mean age = 9;10) and 50 age-matched control children participated. Replicating earlier work, our results demonstrate that phonological skills contribute to individual differences in literacy attainment. No evidence of a relationship between SL and literacy skills is found above and beyond participant-level variables. We propose that the link between SL and literacy attainment, and therefore its clinical relevance, may be small and strongly influenced by methodological differences between studies.